Houston men’s basketball opens season vs. Grambling State

HOUSTON – Fresh off a dominating exhibition win, the University of Houston men’s basketball team begins its 67th season of competition at 7 p.m., Saturday, when it plays host to Grambling State inside Hofheinz Pavilion.

In their lone exhibition contest of the season, the Cougars put on an offensive show for the hometown fans earlier this week. Houston connected on 62 percent of itsshots from the field and nailed at least 60 percent in each half on the way to a 118-70 win against Concordia.

In a game that featured 10 dunks, including eight in the first half alone, it was three Cougars making their collegiate debuts that led the team. Redshirt freshmanguard and nearby Yates High product Joseph Young led all players with 26 points and five 3-pointers.

Junior guard Jonathon Simmons did a little of everything for the Cougars and nearly finished with a quadruple-double. After energizing the Cougar fans with several thunderous dunks, the Houston native finished the night with 21 points, eight rebounds and game highs of nine assists and five steals in only 26 minutes.

Redshirt freshman forward TaShawn Thomas recorded his first double-double with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Cougars have posted a 47-19 (.712) all-time mark during season openers. Houston also has won six of its last seven season openers, including a 63-62 overtime win against Nicholls State to start off the 2010-11 campaign.

Only a 65-63 setback to Georgia Southern during the first day of the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., prevents a longer winning streak.

Saturday’s game will be the first meeting between the two teams since Nov. 24, 2007. The Cougars have posted a 3-0 all-time record in the series, which began during the 2004-05 season.

Houston has enjoyed tremendous success against the Tigers, scoring at least 95 points in all three games at Hofheinz Pavilion and winning by an average of 40.0 points per contest

Saturday’sgame will be the season opener for Grambling State. A year ago, the Tigers posted a 12-21 overall record and finished sixth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference with an 8-10 mark.

However, GSU played well at the right time of the season and advanced to the 2011 SWAC Tournament championship game before bowing out to Alabama State.

Senior guard Raschard Boatner is the team’s leading returning player, averaging 4.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game a year ago. Senior guard Derron Hobbs averaged 4.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in 2010-11.

Head coach Bobby Washington is in his third season at Grambling State and brings a 19-42 career record into Saturday’s opener. He previously served as head coach at Seminole Community College for five years. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach for three years at Florida A&M.